Soda-fountain.



, No. 719,334. PATENTED JAN. 27, 1903.

J. B. HERRON.

SODA FOUNTAIN.

APPLIOATION FILED my 31, 1902. no MODEL. 2 sums-51mm 1.

uni

diivri No. 719,834. PATENTBD JAN. 27, 19. 3-

- J. B. HERRON.

SODA FOUNTAIN.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31, 1902.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ATENT FFIcE;

JAMES B. HERRON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SODA-FOUNTAIN.

.5PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 719,334, dated January 27, 1903.

Application filed May 31, 1902. Serial No. 109,776. (No model.)

To a whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES B. HERRON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Soda-Fountains, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to novel improvements in soda-fountains; and its object is to provide sanitary receptacles for holding the syrups and to display said receptacles and the syrups contained therein, if desired, to view at all times, whereby the public may observe the character of the receptacles and see the syrups while the receptacles remain in their normal position in the fountain and constituting the major part of the front thereof.

A further object of the invention is to improve the construction of soda-fountains and to add to their attractiveness in appearance without increasing the cost of manufacture and also to provide a syrup-receptacle without any parts which might be injured by hot water or other cleansing means and which can be easily and thoroughly cleaned and maintained in absolutely sanitary condition.

I have illustrated the invention in one kind of fountain in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the fountain, showing one of the syrup-receptacles tilted, so thatit can be filled. Fig. 2 is a front view of the fountain with all of the syrup-receptacles removed. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of a porcelain syrup-receptacle with its skeleton front.

Like numerals of reference designate similar parts in the several figures of the drawings, and, referring thereto, designates the body of the fountain, which is provided with draft-arms 11, a splash-strip 12, and contains an ice-cl1amber 13, a cooler 14, and a coolingchamber 15. The syrup-receptacles are removably arranged in the cooling-chamber, and the fronts of these receptacles collectively constitute the front of the fountain above the splash-strip and below the draftarm strip 16. Each syrup-receptacle comprises a substantially flat and rectangular jar 17, having an opening 18 in the top thereof and provided with a skeleton front 19, to which the jar is fastened by means of the faucet 20 and a bolt 21 and held between the side lugs 23. The skeleton front plate 19 is preferably made of metal and provided with straight and smooth side edges 24, which project beyond the sides of the jar, so that the skeleton fronts may be proportioned to fit snugly together in the open front of the fountain, while at the same time the jars will be sufficiently separated to provide an air-space between them for cooling purposes and also to enable them to be readily tilted without interfering with each. other. The opening 25 in the front of the fountain is provided with a border-frame 26, and at the lower edge of said opening is a rounded support 27. The lower edge of each skeleton front is provided with a concave bearing 28 to restupon the support, whereby the receptacle maybe readily tilted, as shown in Fig. 1, without disturbing its position in the fountain and without requiring it to be removed from the fountain to be refilled. The upper end 29 of the skeleton front projects above its jar to engage the border-frame 26, and the weight of the jar and the syrup therein contained will be suflicieut to hold the skeleton front in place on the support 27 at the bottom and against the frame 26 at the top. The jar is made of a size which will permit the entire receptacle being lifted to clear the rounded support, so that the receptacle can be readily removed from the fountain at any time, and the top 30 of the jar is preferably inclined downward from front to rear, so that it can be tilted sulliciently to permit refilling, while at the same time the upper rear end of the jar will engage the frame 26 and prevent the receptacle from falling out of the fountain.

I-Ieretofore it has been customary to entirely conceal the syrup-receptacles,and there has been considerable tendency to construct the receptacles of material and in a manner which injuriously aifect the syrups. Furthermore, the fact that the syrup-receptacles are entirely concealed, frequently in fountains of great beauty, has resulted in many instances in their being permitted to reach an unsanitary condition through ignorance or carelessness and improper attention. One of the salient features of my present invention is to make a fountain in Which the syrupreceptacles and the syrup itself will be fully disclosed to the view of the public at all times, so that a customer may see at a glance the character of the receptacle containing the syrup and its condition, whereby those whose duty it is to take care of the fountain will be induced to keep the syrup-receptacles in a cleanly and sanitary condition. To this end I make the front for the syrup-jar of skeleton form, so that as much as possible of the front face of thejar will be exposed,and the exposed face of the jar may be decorated and ornamented in a manner which will add greatly to the attractiveness in appearance of the fountain, while at the same time fully disclosing the jar. In the drawings I have shown a skeleton front provided with a long central opening 31; but it is apparent that this openin'g may even be further enlarged or divided into a number of smaller openings or otherwise made of skeleton form and disclosing the jar, as desired. At the top of the skeleton front I preferably provide a panel-opening 32 to receive a plate containing the name of the syrup.

The jars may be made of porcelain, glass, or other suitable material, and when made of glass a number of incandescent electric lights 33 can be provided in the cooling-chamber behind or above the jars, so that the jars and the syrups therein can be readily seen from the outside of the fountain and at a considerable distance therefrom, besides adding considerably to the attractiveness of the fountain. The electric lights may of course be located in various positions in the coolingchamber to light up the jars, and I do not confine myself to any particular arrangement thereof. The jars themselves can be made of plain or cut glass, and the skeleton fronts may also be made of metal, glass, or other suitable material. As the syrups can be seen while the jars are in place in the coolingchamber, it will be apparent that the attendant may notice at once when a jar needs refilling without first tiltingthe jar and letting in warm air to the cooling-chamber. The jars, with their skeleton fronts, can be thoroughly cleansed with hot water and always maintained in a sanitary condition, and, as before mentioned, the attendant will be induced to take scrupulous care of the jars, because the public will inevitably take notice of their condition. 7

The skeleton fronts on the syrup-jars together form a complete and tight front for the cooling-chamber, and this cooling-chamber is entirely open at the front, so that when desired the syrup-receptacles may all be removed and access had to all parts of the cooling-chamber. This construction also permits the jars to be changed as to their location in the cooling-chamber at any time, as none of the jars are fitted to any particular position. Each of the jars is provided with a removable lid 35 for the opening in the top thereof.

A fountain constructed in accordance with my invention presents many advantages over those heretofore generally used and can be manufactured Without any material increase in cost. The character of the jars and their fronts is such that they can be highly ornamented in many ways, and when glass jars are used the lights shining on the syrups in the jars will add greatly to the attractiveness of the fountain.

It is apparent, of course, that the invention may be used in fountains of many different varieties, and Ido not limit myself to the particular type shown in the drawings, nor do I restrict myself to the particular construction and arrangement and proportion of parts, as it will be clear to those skilled in the art that many changes may be made in these respects without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A syrup-receptacle for soda-fountains comprising a front plate having an opening therein, and a jar fastened directly to and flush against said plate over saidopening and visible therethrough and forming with the plate a part of the front of the fountain.

2. A soda-fountain provided with a syrupcooling chamber entirely open at the front, a series of independent skeleton front plates arranged to fit snugly in the open front of the cooling-chamber, and syrup-jars secured directly to and flush against said plates over the openings therein and forming with the plates a complete closure for the front of the cooling-chamber.

3. A soda-fountain provided with a syrupcooling chamber having an open front, a series of skeleton front plates arranged to fit snugly in the open front of the cooling-chamber, and transparent syrup-jars secured directly to and flush against said plates over the openings therein and forming with the plates a complete closure for the front of the cooling-chamber.

4. A soda-fountain provided with a syrupcooling chamber having an open front, transparent syrup-jars arranged in said chamber, skeleton front plates fastened directly to said jars flush against the front faces thereof and arranged to form with the jars a part of the front of the fountain, and lights arranged in the chamber for the purpose described.

' JAMES B. HERRON. lVitnesses:

THOMAS J. GREENE, H. V. KILBRUNER. 

